Welcome to the Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

New Administration is up to the (Capital) Challenge

We hit the road again this morning, but today's trip was a short hop to the 28th Annual ACLI Capital Challenge 3-mile run. The race benefits DC Special Olympics, a terrific cause. It was my 14th outing in this enduring DC event; not too shabby, but how about some kudos to Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, who has competed in every race.

This was my first time running with a team from an Executive Agency, and we finished a very respectable 3rd in the competitive Executive category. I want to send a big thank-you to my fellow DOT harriers, pictured below with celebrity host Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi.

From left to right: Steve Clinger, Meb, Liz Gross, Yours Truly (note the stylish U of Illinois headwear), Tim Arnade, and Mark Swanlund

My finish time? 36:30. I can also confirm that I was the first Cabinet Secretary to cross the finish line today. That's me below, approaching the finish looking pretty good for an old guy who's just blazed 3 miles. I do feel a little bad for the guys in my security detail; I hope they can recover from the brutal pace.

Race Director Jeff Darman says, "We are one of the last examples of true bi-partisanship in Washington, as teams from both parties compete while displaying good humor, if not great athleticism." Enough said.

A day in the life

If you have 56 minutes to spare and want to get a sense of life on the not-so-glamorous road, I encourage you to tune in to C-SPAN coverage of my recent trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. You don't have to be a member of the Ray LaHood fan club to appreciate this video for the insight it offers into the economic concerns of Americans.
 
Listen to the challenging tone of the questions. We came all this way to celebrate two projects and the jobs they create, but the audiences are not blithely content with that. These folks have concerns. Concerns about the number of jobs involved, about how long these stimulus jobs will last, about what other projects will be funded, and about how we're going to pay for infrastructure work in the next 5-year surface transportation reauthorization. These are important concerns, and this Administration is working hard to address them.

I think the video shows I like getting out of Washington and having a chance to see the flavor of things at the local level. I was also glad at the day's last stop to have the opportunity to talk up the joint HUD-DOT livable communities initiative. It's one of the many exciting programs I am privileged to be involved in as Secretary.

To be honest, C-SPAN's video doesn't even show all of that trip's activities, but it does convey a sense of a long day on the road. These days are not glamorous, but when I go into communities and hear people's concerns, it's a great honor to know that I've been working hard and to be able to say, "Yes, we're doing something about that."

Extraordinary cargo, extraordinary protection

I reminded readers the other day that, "the Department of Transportation is, among other things, a safety agency."

Today, I want to reinforce that point by introducing some new child car seat safety actions: a consumer program to help parents and caregivers find a child seat that fits best in their vehicle, stringent new side-impact standards for child seats, and even better frontal-imapct standards for these seats. We move a lot of goods on American roads, but these new measures are designed to protect our most precious cargo: infants and children.

I recently ordered the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a comprehensive internal review of child car seat policy. That review team of 30 experts has finished its work. They have recommended the new side-impact standards as well as increased stringency on front-impact standards. Although NTHSA standards for front-impact currently exceed 99.5% of all real-world collisions, we know we can do better for our kids.

NHTSA will also institute a new program to make it easier for parents to choose child safety seats for their specific vehicles. Manufacturers will recommend specific seats in various price ranges that work best for individual vehicles. We'd like to see this program begin with the 2011 model year.  Car manufacturers including Nissan and others in Europe already provide similar recommendations, so full implementation here shouldn't be complicated.

Perhaps most troubling about this review is the report that half of all children between the ages of zero and seven-years-old, who were killed in motor vehicle crashes, were not in child safety seats at all. It won't matter how safe our child car seats are if we don't use them to buckle up our children, and use them well. I hope we can all agree that extraordinary cargo deserves extraordinary protection.

Public disclosure is our job

Yesterday in an interview, I told Lois Romano of The Washington Post that people will soon be reading that the Department of Transportation will not keep secret the data we collect on birds striking airplanes.

You may have heard previous reports that the Federal Aviation Administration had planned to withhold public release of airplane-bird collision information. Well, that just isn't consistent with the direction President Obama wants to take this Administration. It doesn't fit our policies thus far, and it doesn't fit the way we see our mission.

When I was in Congress, I sat on the House Intelligence Committee for 8 years. When I saw that the Administration had released the memos on torture, I thought, never in my life did I dream this sort of information would be released. But, if CIA information like that can see the light of day, there is a new paradigm, and making bird-strike reports available should certainly be a part of that new paradigm.

There's nothing amiss about the FAA wanting to keep this information under wraps. Reporting bird-strikes is a voluntary activity on the part of pilots and airlines; the FAA simply reasoned that knowing the data would be made public might lead to reduced reporting of incidents.

In the end, however, the Department of Transportation is, among other things, a safety agency. Public disclosure is our job. The sea change in government transparency is beginning, and we are happy to be a part of it.

Bicycling is an important factor in less carbon-intensive commuting

Of all the Fastlane entries over the first days of this Administration, the one that has generated the most responses is the one on my address to the National Bike Summit. We all know that bikers are passionate about their wheels; we also know that bicyclists are vulnerable to automobiles and need secure lanes and greater awareness from drivers. On Earth Day, it seems appropriate to talk about bicycling, not only as recreation, but as an environmentally sound commuting option. And, about what the DOT is doing to improve the cyclist's commute.

Bicycling was one of the earliest beneficiaries of stimulus funding, with portions of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act explicitly devoted to bicycling, and this department has been very active in getting that funding out the door. States must spend 3 percent of their allocation on the Transportation Enhancements program, which is a primary source of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure funding. The remainder of the “highway” money also creates an opportunity to build complete streets. All of the highway funding is flexible, and bicycle and pedestrian projects are eligible. The 3 percent in Transportation Enhancements is a floor not a ceiling. 30 percent of a state’s allocation is sub-allocated to urbanized areas, where commuting by bicycle is most likely.

$3.1 billion is provided for the Energy Efficiency and Block Grant Program, which provides formula funding to cities, counties, and states to undertake a range of energy efficiency activities. One eligible use of funding is for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.  $1 billion is provided for the Community Development Block Grants program, which provides formula funding to cities and counties that meet certain criteria to undertake community improvement activities. One eligible use of funding is for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

So, a number of funding opportunities exist, but cycling advocates must get their cities and states to request funds for these purposes. Many states, counties, and municipalities have already done so.

When I told the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit that "Cyclists are important users of America's transportation systems," I meant it. And, when I wrote that "With DOT, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities," I meant that as well. President Obama has challenged us to transform the way transportation serves the American people by creating more choices and encouraging less carbon-intensive transportation, and we are working hard on that challenge.

The upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities.  As I said today in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this includes fostering communities where bicyclists feel both safe and welcome on the roadways. Bike-friendly development also has the potential to contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting.

Earth Day is today, but we'll need the sustained engagement of bicycle commuters and their advocates in the weeks and months to come to help keep the wheels of bicycle-friendly legislation on the road.

New Englanders are passionate and knowledgeable on transportation issues

In New England, the lilacs are still a few weeks away, but thanks to the economic stimulus, jobs have already bloomed.

On Friday, I had my first opportunity as Secretary to visit New Hampshire and Vermont, and the day could not have been more promising. Sunny and warm, an excellent start to the paving season.

It wasn't just the weather; it was the people I had the good fortune to meet, both at public ceremonies and in private interviews (Foster's, NHPR, Times Argus, VPR) and meetings. I met some of the most dedicated, impressive public officials during our visit. And, I also encountered a very well-prepared media. You know, I've been doing a lot of traveling, visiting stimulus projects here and there around the country. But, I really enjoyed my stops in the northeast last week. It's beautiful country, and the folks are very knowledgeable and passionate about transportation issues, a combination I appreciate.

In Epping, NH, there were highway people, Governor John Lynch, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, Congressman Paul Hodes, as well as state senators and the state transportation commissioner. We had a wonderful groundbreaking ceremony for a Route 101 resurfacing project. Maybe a 10-mile repaving job doesn't seem like a huge undertaking, but, I tell you, this "small" project has already created jobs.

Lauren Collins of NECN cites Pike Industries (the bid winner) as already hiring 15 people and processing the applications of an additional 30 to get the work done: "Those jobs range from the men and women you see on the side of the highway, to those back in the office, and the many sub-contractors, engineers, and architects that are needed for projects of this scope."

Lara Bricker reports in the Portsmouth Herald, that Jason Thornton, 33, was hired by Pike from that pool of applicants and started work last Monday. This fellow has four children and was relying day-to-day on scattered jobs before he was hired for the Route 101 project. "I'm fortunate to get hooked up with a stable company," he said. "Stability is the key factor; knowing that there's going to be a paycheck every Friday or Monday."

"The federal economic stimulus money is working here in New Hampshire," Gov. Lynch said. "In New Hampshire, we're going to be able to pave about 1,000 miles of roads." That 1,000 miles is four times the 250 miles NH had budgeted before Congress passed the President's stimulus.

That's what this is all about. Jobs and mobility. And, we're making both happen quickly.

In Berlin, Vermont, near Montpelier, I met with Governor Jim Douglas, Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, and Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as state legislators and FAA officials. There we announced funding for a runway expansion at Edward E. Knapp State Airport.

This money will put people to work in Vermont while providing an important investment in airport safety. That means boosting the economy in the short term through job creation and sustaining economic recovery in the long-term by making airports more efficient and secure. The Burlington Free Press reports that the project will create 54 jobs.

Sure, 54 may not seem like big news. But, if you do the math and start multiplying this project thousands of times [See my previous entry on the 2,000th stimulus project], you've got something worth writing home about. As Sen. Sanders said Friday, "This grant is another example of how the economic stimulus package is rebuilding our infrastructure and moving America in a dramatic new direction by creating millions of good-paying jobs."

High speed rail possible? Yes, this is America

The Department of Transportation is proud to support President Obama’s vision for new and improved passenger rail service for America.

Nearly 150 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln approved construction of the Union-Pacific Railroad.  It would stretch from Iowa to California. The work of building cutting-edge railways in America has not yet been completed. With President Obama's high-speed rail initiative, we can resume that work today.

All around the country, people are asking for more rail service. Ridership on Amtrak, light rail, commuter rail, and subways, is on the rise. And across Europe and Asia, people enjoy the comfort and convenience of high-speed train travel. That’s why it’s so important for us to jump-start a new era in American train travel.

We need to develop new passenger rail corridors where it makes sense to do so--and integrate them with our highways, airports, transit hubs, and urban centers.

It’s the right thing to do for our mobility – and for the environment.A single railroad track can carry as many people as a 10-lane highway. That could help to relieve congestion. And rail systems powered by clean diesel or electric power are energy-efficient. They’re capable of removing billions of pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year.

Years from now, Americans will look back on this time as a game-changer. A time when we got serious about putting public transportation to work on behalf of all Americans. A time when we recognized that passenger rail can play a key role in making our communities more livable and sustainable.

We're creating jobs while repositioning our economy and supply chains for the future. But, it's not just job creation; it's mobility transformation. The President understands that "investing in our transportation, investing in our infrastructure pays dividends over the long term."

Vice President Biden said it so well when he described the President as a "Man who will have transformed transportation in this country."

Can we really do this? As the President said this morning, "It's already being done; it's just not being done here. And there's no reason for it; this is America."

Let's all be thankful for "just another day" at Ft. Myers TRACON

Is Doug White a hero? Absolutely. The man saved his wife and two daughters by landing a plane he had never flown after the pilot died on post-takeoff ascent in Florida.

Slightly overlooked in much of the [LINK]news coverage are 4 other heroes from that day: air traffic controllers Lisa Grimm, Brian Norton and Dan Favio, and flight instructor Kari Sorenson. I won't retell their story in its entirety, but I urge all of you to read it in all its gripping detail at ATC Network.

The abridged version is this: White's pilot died early in the flight and all White knew how to do in the King Air 200 was use the radio. He reached controller Lisa Grimm. “I’ve got a dead pilot. I’m in a King Air 200. I’m climbing on top of a cloud layer and I don’t know how to fly this thing. I need a King Air pilot and I need some help quick,” White told the controller.

And that may have been all he needed because Grimm coordinated the emergency while TRACON's Norton was able to talk White through disengaging the autopilot, stabilizing the plane, and landing safely. Not that Norton was any more familiar with the aircraft than White himself; he was relaying instructions from Favio, who had called his friend Sorenson for detailed instructions. “I sat beside Brian and called Sorenson,” Favio said. “He just happened to be sitting in his office and he was able to pull out the checklist for the King Air 200 and the cockpit diagram.”

Sorenson has logged hundreds of hours in the King and calmly dictated the necessary steps to Favio and Norton and, ultimately, to White. "We started providing him with positions of controls, switches, how to configure the aircraft for landing," Sorenson said.

Tower manager Steve Bushey credited their coolheadedness under extraordinary circumstances for helping White maintain the focus he needed to guide the plane safely to rest on the Ft. Myers runway: “I couldn't be more proud of them. We're happy to have a good story and particularly because the outcome was positive. You can't beat that.”

We should applaud all involved for using their good skills and good common sense to bring this plane down.

And, let Doug White have the last word: “Most of us have no clue what air traffic controllers do for a living, or what they go through, especially in a busy airspace,” White said. “They are not given near enough credit for what they do. … Those guys are my heroes.”

First pup Bo a DOT insider

I hope by now many of you have seen the photos of Bo, our nation's First Pup, posted on the White House blog. Truly a cute and energetic addition to the thriving Obama household.

Turns out that young Bo has ties that lead right here to DOT and a similarly energetic but more mature Portugese Water Dog named Pooka, owned by DOT's own Janet Forsgren.

Follow me if you can: Bo was born of Penny, who lives on Martha and Art Stern's farm. Penny was born of Pooka, who also was bred by the Sterns until Penny herself was of breeding age. At that point, Pooka, Bo's maternal grandmother, came to live with Janet.

Yet another example of the strong ties between this agency and the White House.

Janet tells me that 9-year-old Pooka is a loyal dog and great companion with "the waggingest tail east of the Mississippi." Apparently Janet's parents, George and Jane Rice of Williamsburg, have made a habit of taking her Portugese Water Dogs home with them when they visit, and they are now taking care of Pooka and Janet's first PWD, Cosmos. If you know them, please don't tell them that Janet now has a 3rd PWD named Taylor, also from the Stern farm.
 

In fact, when word first hit the streets that President Obama was looking for a hypo-allergenic family dog, Janet's dad, George Rice, suggested to Janet that she call the Sterns and have them tell Senator Kennedy to recommend to the Obamas a PWD from their farm. She hesitated, but the Kennedys were already out in front of the idea. Bo is indeed a gift from the Senator.

No matter whose idea, we at DOT welcome Bo to the Administration and wish the Obamas all the pleasure and warmth a dog can bring to a home.
Bo (courtesy of Pete Souza and White House Blog)

President Obama at DOT: "Ahead of schedule and under budget"

Only a little more than month ago, President Obama and Vice President Biden gave the good people here at DOT the honor of a joint visit to our headquarters. Today, they doubled that honor with a return joint visit.

On March 3, we announced the first release of funds under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). The good news then was that we were creating jobs. Today, the President and Vice President came back to DOT to celebrate even better news: funding for the 2000th transportation project under ARRA.

That is not a typing error; the Michigan highway widening project is the TWO-THOUSANDTH recipient of ARRA transportation funds in just 41 days.

The project will improve safety and ease congestion by providing a more efficient I-94 in Kalamazoo County. Like all of the stimulus projects considered by our TIGER team, it makes the lives of ordinary transportation users easier while it creates jobs. That's what "reinvestment" and "recovery" mean, and that's what DOT has delivered.

The DOT has moved more swiftly than people thought possible, to make nearly all of its 48 billion dollars in recovery funds available, empowering every state and territory, wisely and accountably. And because construction bids are coming in lower than expected, our recovery dollars will go further. So even more projects can potentially go out for bid. It is a tribute to the hard work of DOT personnel that President Obama and Vice President Biden came back today for this announcement.

Today, President Obama said it best: “I am proud to utter the two rarest phrases in the English language – projects are being approved ahead of schedule, and they are coming in under budget.”

It's rare, indeed, when a brand new law can have a positive impact on people’s lives within a matter of weeks. But, that’s just what the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has done. A positive impact on the lives of people who have new jobs. A positive impact on the lives of people using our roads, rails, waterways, and airways.

As Vice-President Biden told the folks at DOT this morning, "The Recovery Act is full- steam ahead on helping us build an economy for the 21st century."

I’m very encouraged by the progress we’ve made so far to put our recovery dollars to work. Thank you, President Obama and Vice-President Biden for acknowledging that progress.

10-year anniversary of National Work Zone Awareness Week not to be overlooked

Our highways need work; that work requires work zones; and those work zones require special attention from drivers. More importantly, the workers rebuilding America's roads deserve our respect and our extra driving caution.

I am very pleased by the news that work zone fatalities decreased by 17% in 2007. Even better news is that this decline continues a decade-long downward trend. The most recent decline is the sharpest single-year drop since we started the National Work Zone Awareness Week safety campaign in 1999. What a fitting way to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Work zone safety is going to be particularly important this construction season because we are distributing stimulus funds to build, repair, and maintain highways across the country. The $27 billion in economic recovery funds fueling thousands of highway construction and repair projects nationwide mean there are more work zones. The new jobs we've created in highway repair and road maintenance means more workers at risk. Drivers must be more careful than ever.

I want to thank the good folks at our Federal Highway Administration for their work. And, thanks also to our NWZAW partners for their great support: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Associated General Contractors of America, American Traffic Safety Services Association and the Virginia, Maryland, and DC Departments of Transportation.

This is shaping up to be the busiest road construction, repair, and maintenance season in many years. Let's all drive to make it the safest.

Improved seat belt use and record low traffic deaths: no coincidence

As Ken Thomas of the Associated Press is reporting today, "the number of people killed in auto accidents hit its lowest level in five decades."

And, while AP seems to attribute the decrease to fewer miles traveled, the rate of deaths per mile traveled in 2008 is the lowest on record. That means something else is the effective cause of this new safety record.

For the explanation, I'd point to increased seat belt use, which also reached a record level in 2008. The national average of seat belt use was 83%, a good number though not one we can afford to be satisfied with. The top sixteen states and territories achieved seat belt use rates of 90 percent or higher. Those are Michigan, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Maryland, Iowa, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Illinois and the District of Columbia.

Congratulations to Michigan for leading the way with an amazing 97.2% use rate. States like Michigan are raising the bar on seat belt use, making communities safer and keeping families intact.

Lower fatalities and higher seat belt use are trends we want to see.  Americans should be pleased that everyone has stepped up to make driving safer.

To see how your state or territory did in 2008 view NHTSA's report showing 2008 seat belt use click here. To view the report showing estimated fatalities in 2008, click here.

You can call it the result of increased seat belt use; you can call it the result of fewer miles traveled. I call it good news.